


Life Is What Happens to You When You're Busy Making Other Plans

by footprintsinthesnow



Series: Keeping All Fingers Crossed and Held Tight [2]
Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Alcohol, Anxiety, Arguing, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Happy Ending, Miscommunication, Relationship Problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 22:34:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20071705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/footprintsinthesnow/pseuds/footprintsinthesnow
Summary: Everyone's getting married and Hatori is having a crisis. Then, Mayu starts acting strangely and everything goes from bad to worse.





	Life Is What Happens to You When You're Busy Making Other Plans

Hatori reached for another glass of champagne as one of the waiters walked by his table. He still hadn’t finished the one in front of him, but he fully anticipated that he would need another if he planned to make it through the night. He needed to make it through - this was Ayame’s wedding reception, and, even if he didn’t like to admit it, he would do anything to see his best friend happy. Tonight, that meant sticking around until every last person had left. 

The wait wouldn’t be so bad if Mayu were still sitting next to him, but she had moved on to other things. At the moment, that thing, to his bewilderment, was feverishly dancing with Shigure on the opposite side of the room. Three glasses of champagne, it seemed, was what it took for her to find him tolerable. He glanced over his shoulder to find Akito watching the two of them with a strange expression. It wasn’t anger; she was long past such pettiness. If anything, she looked just as confused as he felt. For a split second he thought about going to speak to her, but decided against it. Akito might have softened, but talking to her wasn’t exactly easy. 

“Hatori-san!” a chipper voice called out, pulling him away from Akito. 

He whipped around to find Honda-san, and some of the anxiety that had been gripping at his chest melted away. She looked just as sweet and comforting as she always did, even more so now in her rose pink dress. 

“Honda-san, you look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she said, “and you look so handsome!”

“That’s very kind of you. Where’s Kyo?”

“He’s talking to Hatsuharu-san,” she said.

He nodded. “Would you like to sit?” he asked.

“Actually, I wanted to know if you’d like to dance with me,” she said, blushing.

“I’m not very good at dancing to this sort of music.”

“I’m not either, but we could dance the next slow song. Unless Shiraki-sensei wants to dance with you instead!” she said, waving her hands nervously.

Hatori shook his head. “No, I think she’s found herself a dance partner already,” he said, gesturing to Mayu and Shigure, who were laughing hysterically as Mayu stumbled over her own feet and tripped into him. Hatori grinned, then looked back at Tohru. “If you would like, I would be honored to dance the next slow song with you.”

“Nothing would make me happier.”

They waited together, chatting idly until the music’s tempo finally slowed. When it did, Hatori offered her his hand. She took it happily and they blended into the edge of the crowd on the dancefloor. 

Dancing was harder than usual; Honda-san was much smaller than Mayu, and he found himself leaning over to try to accommodate their height difference. 

“You don’t need to do that,” she said kindly. “Just move your hands… like this.” She fixed them quickly, and giggled. “There, perfect! Don’t worry, Hatori-san. Kyo-kun used to do the same thing.”

“Nice to know I’m not the only one,” he replied. “You know, I’m very glad that you and Kyo were able to be here for Ayame’s wedding.”

“We are too. Kyo-kun’s pretending to be grumpy, but I know he’s really happy to see everyone.”

Hatori grinned. “Where are you two staying? You’re more than welcome to stay with me if you’re spending money on a hotel.”

“Oh! No, we’ve been staying with Kyo-kun’s Shishou. But that’s so kind of you, Hatori-san. I’ll let Kyo-kun know that you offered.”

“That’s right,” Hatori murmured. “I forgot about Kazuma. I’m sure you two are very comfortable there.”

“We are, and seeing Shishou makes Kyo-kun so happy.”

“I would imagine.”

“How have you been, Hatori-san? I didn’t get a chance to ask earlier.”

“I’m doing well. Work has been keeping me busy, but I don’t mind. And I told you that Mayu and I moved into a house together, correct?”

“You did! Does this mean that you and Shiraki-sensei are getting married soon?”

Hatori fell silent. “Uh, not at the moment, no.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. That was rude of me.”

“Please don’t apologize. But, no, we’ve decided to just live together for now.”

“Oh, I see,” she said, cheeks bright red. “Is… is it okay if I ask whether you want to marry Shiraki-sensei?”

Suddenly, the room felt like it was ten degrees hotter than before; as if to prove a point, a bead of sweat ran down his forehead and stuck to his hair. “Of course I do, someday,” Hatori said. “There are no immediate plans, that’s all.”

“Of course. I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable, Hatori-san.”

He bowed his head and sighed. He wished she would stop apologizing - there was nothing inherently wrong with her questions, he just wasn’t sure how to answer her. It was then he noticed that her left hand, sitting lightly against his arm, had a small silver band adorning the ring finger.

“Honda-san?”

“Yes?”

“Are you and Kyo engaged?”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened, then quickly softened. “You noticed. We haven’t told many people yet. He asked me just the other day… I didn’t want to take the attention off of Ayame-san and Mine-san.”

Hatori rolled his eyes. “I think Ayame has had enough attention for a lifetime. And congratulations. I’m happy for the both of you.”

“Thank you,” Honda-san said. She gave him a gentle look, then stopped dancing. “The song’s over, Hatori-san. We’d better move before somebody makes us join in the next one.”

“Good idea,” he said, guiding her back to the table. 

After a few more words, they parted ways; Kyo was signaling her over to talk to someone, and he wasn’t going to keep her from her… fiancé. It was strange to think that this girl, who he’d first met when she was no more than fifteen, would be married soon. Why was everyone getting married? He used to see the need to rush, when he was younger. Something about Kana made him feel like he needed to latch himself to her as quickly as possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Mayu - in fact, he loved her more than he ever could have loved Kana. He supposed that, back then, his life was so unstable that he was in desperate need of something to anchor him to reality. Now, there was no need to rush around. Everything was stable. Everything was good. 

So good in fact, that he was going to treat himself to another glass of champagne.

\-----

Back in their bedroom, Hatori unbuttoned his shirt slowly and looked at Mayu out of the corner of his eye. He had tried, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Honda-san’s questions. The poor girl hadn’t meant anything by it. She was just good-naturedly curious, and there was nothing wrong with that. Still… should he and Mayu be married already? Were they too old to be waiting around? They had talked about it before, in passing, but they decided that they were content with what they had. It wasn’t that they didn’t ever want to get married; it just wasn’t the right time. Marriage meant pressure to do other things, and those were things they definitely weren’t ready to think about yet. 

“Hatori?” Mayu asked, drawing him out of his head. 

“Yeah?”

“I can hear you thinking. It’s awfully loud.”

“Sorry.”

Mayu tilted her head. “Maybe I can distract you,” she said, slipping her dress off as she stumbled towards him. 

Hatori bit down on his lip, a little too hard. “I think I’d like that.”

“Good, I’d like that too,” she whispered, lifting herself up to brush her mouth along his jawline. He drew in a shallow breath as she played with his belt, easily undoing the buckle and pulling it through the loops before discarding it in a fluid motion that came from years of practice. Eagerly, he kicked his pants and boxers off before leaning closer to Mayu and slipping the tips of his fingers beneath the hem of her underwear, inching them down her body until they joined the rest of their clothing on the floor. 

With nothing left between them, Mayu’s lips latched onto his neck, sucking concentratedly into delicate skin. Small, pleasured noises escaped him, and she giggled at his desperation. She pulled away to teasingly tap her finger on his nose. They locked eyes, and he noticed that hers were dazed and blurry from the alcohol. If the number of drinks they had consumed at the reception were anything to go by, he was quite certain that his were even hazier.

“Hey,” he whispered, moving his lips close to her ear. Soft strands of hair tickled his skin, and sent shivers through his body. “Lay down, wanna do something.”

She smirked and moved excitedly to the bed. He gazed at her body, admiring the way her tanned form contrasted the smooth white sheets as she wriggled back up against the plush pillows. Her long legs twisted together, and he gently pressed his hands between to part them. She drew in a broken sigh, and her breaths grew heavier as he laid down to kiss along her thighs. Pausing for a moment, he walked his hands up her body to settle on the small swell of her breasts, thumbing lightly over her nipples. 

A hand gripped eagerly at his hair, guiding him to the spot he knew she liked. He flicked his tongue against her, and felt a hot sensation swell in his gut at the long sigh that followed. Moving closer, he licked broad stripes against her until she elicited needy sounds that let him know he was in the right place. He focused his attention there, tonguing around the swollen fold of pink in the way that made her moan. It was wonderful - making her feel like this. When they were here together, he never wanted it to end. He wanted her to feel this good all the time, and to know that he was the reason for it.

“Hatori,” she sighed, pulling at his hair again and lifting his head away from her.

He blinked at her, confused. 

“Sit up.”

Without thinking, he did as she asked. He watched her, mesmerized, as she crawled toward him and straddled his thighs. She kissed him hungrily, digging her nails into his back and grinding her body down into him. He shuddered at the feeling, and without thinking reached down to stroke along his length. Suddenly, she stopped moving and grabbed his wrist; something about the intensity in her eyes told Hatori exactly what she wanted to do. 

Mayu lifted herself up, and waited for Hatori to position himself. She sunk onto him slowly, looking proud at the way it made him groan, until their skin was flush together. For a moment, they remained still; Hatori reached up to cup her jaw, taking in the redness in her cheeks, and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. 

Draping her arms around his neck to steady herself, she rocked into him. His eyes rolled back as she repeated the motion, easing herself into a rhythm. Lazily, he rolled his hips up at the friction. He liked this too - allowing her to take over and make him feel good while he did nothing but sit back and enjoy the moment. It was rare for him to do that, when life seemed to keep him so busy. 

His mind started to go blank - some mixture of Mayu’s movements and the alcohol from before, he decided - and his breath hitched as she picked up the pace. An intense white heat grew in the pit of his stomach, burning wildly and pushing him closer to the edge until he came with a broken cry. Through the fog in his brain, he remembered that she hadn’t come yet. He brought a shaky hand between her legs and began to work in deep, concentrated circles; she buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, biting lightly. He worked her over until her body shook and finally stilled, and his name hung in the air around them as it fell out of her mouth in disjointed gasps. 

Gently, he helped her lift herself off of him, and laid her back against the pillow. She yawned deeply, eyelids fluttering as she stretched out on the bed. They laid together for some time, their breathing gradually slowing and steadying, before he reached out to tap on her leg.

“Bathroom,” he instructed, attempting to keep his voice serious despite the drunken slur that marked his words. “You’re not allowed to get another UTI. Doctor’s orders.”

She scoffed, giving him an annoyed look. “Fine, Doctor Sohma. I’m going, I’m going.” She pulled herself up and waddled tiredly to the bathroom, grumbling under her breath about bothersome it was to be a responsible adult. 

“I love you, Mayu,” he called out. 

“I love you too, you jerk.”

Hatori laughed, a genuine one from somewhere deep in his belly, and flopped down onto the pillows. The issue of marriage was still nagging him, but it was beginning to fade now. What did it matter if everyone else was getting married? They would too, eventually. And when it happened, he thought, somewhat pettily, it would be even better than Ayame and Mine’s wedding. He would make sure of that.

\-----

A month later, Kyo and Honda-san’s wedding invitation arrived in the mail.

From his spot on the couch, he saw Mayu hurriedly stride through the front door, coat wet and dripping from the rain as she waved the envelope excitedly in the air. 

“We got something from the kids,” she yelled.

“Which ones?” he called, not lifting his eyes away from the book he was reading.

“Honda-san and the hothead.”

“Ah,” he said, adjusting his glasses absentmindedly. 

She hung up her jacket and walked over to him. “Want to open it? Or do you want me to do it?”

“You can, if you like.”

Shrugging, she roughly ripped the seal open and pulled out a pale pink card. She read it over - probably more than once, if the time it took was anything to go by - then held it out to him. “Look at this,” she said, eyes wide.

He stared at it. “What does it say?” he asked.

“Lazy,” she said, laughing. “It says that they’re getting married.”

“Oh, I knew that already,” Hatori said, carefully turning the page of his book, “Honda-san told me at Ayame’s wedding. Exciting, isn’t it?”

“Wait, seriously?” she squealed, swatting his head with the invitation. “That was a whole month ago, you didn’t think to share with me?”

Hatori set his book down. “I’m sorry. In my defense, though, there was a lot going on that day.”

“Fine,” she conceded, sitting down beside him. “Did she say why they were getting married?”

“What do you mean, why? He proposed to her.”

“You know,” she said, gesturing her hands in that way she did when she pointed out something that was apparently obvious. “They’re really young. Don’t you think there might be a reason he proposed to her?”

“Because… he loves her?” Hatori said, shifting his eyes. 

“Seriously?”

“Yes? What are you getting at?”

She rolled her eyes. “I think, maybe, she could be pregnant?”

Hatori crossed his arms. “Don’t be silly.”

“Come on, you don’t think it’s a possibility?”

“Of course it’s a possibility, but I think it’s an extremely unlikely one. Besides, do you really want to be speculating about your former students’ sex lives?”

“Well, not when you put it that way,” she pouted, shuddering dramatically. “I’m going to call Ayame, he’ll gossip with me.”

“I’m sure he will.”

Mayu stuck out her tongue and pulled out her cell phone as she sulked out of the room. Hatori listened to her pad away to their bedroom, an amused expression on his face. Without a doubt, Ayame would indulge her. If he’d received his invitation already, he had more than likely formed the same opinion. Ayame had a gift for instantly settling on the most exciting explanations.

He supposed he could see why Mayu wanted to gossip; the notion of there being some sort of scandal was entertaining. There was even some sound logic to her idea, he would admit. But he knew better, now that he’d had some time to think about it. He remembered the way Honda-san and Kyo looked at each other back when the two of them lived at Shigure’s house. There had always been something special between them, some kind of rare and beautiful connection. It was only a matter of time before they decided to get married. Quite frankly, he was surprised it didn’t happen sooner. 

Hatori reached for his book and flipped to where he had left off. In the back of his mind, that same unpleasant feeling from the wedding was taking root, though he was trying his best to ignore it. He didn’t need to pay attention to it again. Yet, by the time Mayu came sauntering back into the room to announce that Honda-san was definitely not pregnant - Ayame had interrogated them until he got a definitive answer, according to Mayu - the only thought running through his head was an all-consuming fear that what they had wasn’t enough.

\-----

The second Saturday of every month had been their designated date night since almost the very beginning of their relationship. Neither of them were fond of social activities, they had discovered. If they had it their way, they would stay in, make dinner together, and watch a movie on the couch before either having some lazy sex or going to bed early. However, that had quickly earned comments from Shigure and Ayame about how they were both embarrassingly lame for people of their age. So, date night, somewhat begrudgingly, became a tradition - if only to keep those two idiots from bothering them.

This time, they had agreed to go out for dinner before visiting a new exhibition at the art museum. The exhibition had been his idea, for the most part, so they agreed that Mayu would select the restaurant. He could guess her choice before she even told him what it was. She had her favorite places - and the one that she liked the most was a small, quiet place that had especially good udon. They went there often enough that they had a favorite table. It was near the back of the restaurant, next to a window that overlooked a garden, and, at this point, the hosts and hostesses knew them well enough to give them that table if it was available.

When they arrived at the restaurant, he watched Mayu smile as the host brought them to that table. Hatori thanked him and helped Mayu take off her jacket, draping it over the back of her chair as she sat down.

“Lucky, huh?” Mayu said. “We didn’t get our table last time we were here.”

“Indeed,” he agreed. “Are we getting our usual?”

“Probably. We know we like it, anyway,” Mayu said, and Hatori couldn’t argue with her logic.

Dinner was spent in a peaceful, comfortable quiet. They made some conversation about their respective days, but neither felt the need to say much. They talked all the time; silence was nice, sometimes. They could simply enjoy being near each other and eat without worrying about being caught with food in their mouth when the other person asked a question. It was a good system.

After dinner they walked to the museum, hand in hand. Mayu teased him for having cold hands, just like she always did, and he laughed. “That’s why I’m holding your hand,” he explained. “Your hand will warm mine up.”

“Well, what about your other hand?”

“It will just have to go in my pocket, I suppose.”

“That’s no good,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“I know, but it will have to do.”

She must have agreed with that, because she made a contented sound and nuzzled her cheek where it fell against his coat. Smiling, Hatori squeezed her hand tighter. 

A few hours later, they returned home. The exhibit had been disappointingly underwhelming, but there were a few pieces that they agreed were worth spending the money to see. Still, Mayu insisted that the most interesting thing about the event was the security guard who, out of the blue, couldn’t stop sneezing and ended up frightening a tiny old woman. 

“I swear she jumped ten feet into the air,” Mayu snorted, throwing her purse onto their bed. “Poor lady. And the guard felt so bad, did you see him? He was redder than a fucking tomato.”

“I remember,” Hatori chuckled, “she almost jumped right into me.”

“Shame she didn’t, she probably would have loved for a handsome guy like you to save her from the scary noise.”

“Hmm. You think the lady and I could have hit it off?”

“Oh, for sure,” Mayu said, wiping off her makeup. “You’re an old man in a thirty year old’s body. That’s probably her dream come true.”

Hatori scoffed as he took off his clothes. “I don’t think you’re allowed to tease me like that, not when you’re a full two years older than me.”

Mayu winked. “Actually, I think those two years give me the right to tease you whenever I feel like it. I have seniority.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Hatori replied, tossing his shirt in the hamper. 

She walked over and wrapped her arms loosely around him from behind, and the tension in his muscles released as she settled her forehead against the nape of his neck. 

“Don’t get all grumpy on me,” she mumbled, squeezing his waist. “I love you, and I love that you’re kind of like an old man sometimes. That lady would be lucky to land someone like you. But she’ll have to fight me for you first. Now come on, let’s get ready for bed, okay?”

She led him to the bathroom, and they went through their bedtime routines in perfect synchronicity before settling in under the covers, where Hatori opened his arms to allow Mayu to cuddle against him.

“I can feel your heart,” she murmured offhandedly. “It’s fast, is something worrying you?”

Hatori shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking recently.”

“About what?”

“Us.”

“That’s pretty ominous,” she laughed. “Care to elaborate?”

“It’s just me being anxious over nothing.”

“I mean, yeah. That’s usually what it is. But if we don’t talk about it soon, it’s going to keep bugging you and you’ll get that constipated look on your face. Why do you even make that face?”

“Mayu.”

“Sorry, sorry. Will you tell me what’s worrying you?”

Hatori sighed. “Do you ever think we’re stagnant?”

“No, not really,” Mayu replied, yawning. “Just so I’m clear, do you think we are, or are you worried that I think we are?”

“I’m not sure,” he said, knitting his brows. “I’ve just noticed that things have gotten comfortable.”

“Is that… is that bad?”

“No, comfortable is good,” he said, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. “I don’t know what I’m saying. Basically, I’ve just been worried about… well, do you wish that we were married?”

“Ah. There it is,” Mayu said.

“Well? Do you?”

“This is about Honda-san and your cousin getting married, isn’t it? Please don’t tell me you’ve spent the last three weeks worrying about that.” Scoldingly, she pinched his stomach. “I’m happy with the way things are, okay?”

Hatori batted her hand away. “I mean, it’s not just them. What about Ayame?”

“Hatori. Ayame and Mine were together for, like, two whole years before we even became friends. Also, we’ve talked about this. We’re not in any rush. When the time is right for both of us, we’ll get married. Stop worrying, promise?”

“Yes. I promise.”

“Good,” she said, pressing a kiss to his chest. “Can we sleep now? I’m feeling really worn out.”

Smiling, he lifted her chin to lay a chaste kiss on her lips, then reached over and turned out the light. Within moments, he could hear her softly snoring into his chest. Exhaling, he stared up at the ceiling and chewed nervously on his lip - no matter how hard he might try, he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.

\-----

The next week passed by just as it always did. They both woke up and went to work before returning home later that evening; Mayu came home first, Hatori a couple of hours later. Each evening, Hatori took a mental note of every domestic routine that he and Mayu mindlessly walked through, and felt guilty each time he caught himself doing so. He liked domesticity. He liked routine. And he loved Mayu, fully and unconditionally. Why couldn’t he stop worrying about whether their relationship was good enough, or moving fast enough? He wasn’t going to propose to her just because some of his family members had already taken that step with their significant others. This sort of thing wasn’t a competition.

However, the worst part of it all, he determined, was that Mayu seemed to be growing frustrated with his anxiety. Or, at least, he assumed that was the reason for her sudden change in mood. She had seemed bothered for the last couple of days; an uncharacteristically sour look had settled onto her face and she hadn’t been as engaged in their conversations. Still, she carried on with all the things they normally did; to his own frustration, he couldn’t decide if that was comforting or not. 

Tonight, she was sitting on the couch while he made dinner. He was glad that tonight was his turn to cook. Since she got home from work that afternoon, she looked tired. A few times, he caught her staring off into the distance with a blank expression on her face and had to remind her of what she was doing. It was unusual for her to act like this. Mayu was never spacey or unfocused to the point that he had to direct her, and he didn’t know what to make of it. Apprehensively, he cleared his throat. “Dinner’s ready,” he said, raising his voice slightly to make sure he caught her attention. 

Mayu carried herself to the table sluggishly. “It looks good,” she said, scanning the food in front of her. “Mom would be happy that we’re actually using those recipes she gave us.”

Hatori grinned. “We’ll have to call her to say thank you.”

“Yeah,” she hummed, picking at the chicken on her plate. “Did you have a good day at work?”

“It was fine. One of my patients canceled so I had an unexpected break in the middle of the day. I should have caught up on paperwork, but I ended up falling asleep.”

“I’ll bet, old man.” Normally, those words came out of her mouth with a bright, teasing energy. Tonight, they fell flat and felt closer to cruelty than affection.

Hatori uneasily took a bite of rice. “And how was your day?”

“It was okay,” she shrugged. “I’m feeling a little off, though.”

Hatori tilted his head. “Are you ill?”

“It’s not a big deal, it’ll pass.”

“What do you mean?”

“I might have gotten sick at school,” she said. “But it’s okay, I’m fine now.”

“What happened?”

“I got a bit nauseous and threw up. Not a big deal, people vomit sometimes.”

“Mayu,” he said, folding his hands together, “are you sure you’re okay? Because, if you still don’t feel well, I can check you out to make sure everything is fine.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I rested in the nurse’s office for a bit then I went back to work. Nothing to worry about.”

“I don’t think you should -”

“Listen,” she blurted, interrupting him. She closed her eyes and rubbed frustratedly at her eyelids. “I’m okay. Please don’t stress, because you’re going to stress me out too.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, swallowing nervously. “Is there something wrong?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” he stuttered, “forget it.”

“No, I’m not going to forget it, because apparently there’s something wrong with me.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Then what were you trying to say?”

Hatori inhaled sharply. “I’m trying to say that I’m worried about you.”

“I don’t need you to worry about me all the damn time,” she growled. “I can handle myself.”

“No… I mean, yes, I know that,” he said, taken aback. “Why are we fighting? I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Groaning, she stood up from the table, rattling their drinks. “Forget it. I’m too tired for this. I’m going to bed.”

Hatori looked at his watch. “It’s not even eight yet. And you’ve barely touched your food.”

She ignored him and left the kitchen. A few moments later, he heard their bedroom door slam shut.

He finished his dinner quickly and quietly, thoughts so focused on Mayu that he barely registered what he was doing. It wasn’t like her to get upset without reason. Sure, she could be emotional - he was used to that by now - but she her emotions were always firmly rooted in rationality. Whatever just happened was strange, to say the least, and he had no idea what to make of it. He wasn’t even sure if Mayu understood what she was upset about.

Carrying his plate to the sink, he wondered if it was worth trying to figure out what was going on with Mayu tonight. He would give her some time to rest, and join her bed after she’d already gone to sleep. All she needed was some time to herself, he supposed. She had said she was tired, so he would let her rest. This was just a passing mood. It would be gone by morning, and they’d go back to normal. 

Everything would be fine. 

\-----

He wasn’t sure how they had gotten here, but Mayu was crying and yelling at him to get out of their bedroom for the third time this week. He didn’t remember how those other two arguments began, but if he were to trace today’s argument back to the start, he supposed it started when Mayu said her body felt sore. 

“Do you want anything?” he asked. “We have some medicine in the cabinet.”

“Nope. I’ll be fine,” she said, laying back against the pillows with her hands over her eyes. 

“Are you sure? Because I can go get it for you.”

“No. I just want to lay here.”

“Sure,” Hatori said, taking a step toward the bed. “Let’s take a nap.”

“By myself. I want to have some time alone.”

Hatori pulled anxiously at his hair. Mayu had been spending most of her time alone recently. She had been coming home late a lot - one day, she didn’t come home until almost seven, which was three hours later than usual - and got annoyed when he asked what she had been doing. Then, during the times when she actually was home, she was either ignoring him or locking herself in their bedroom to nap. Some days, she wouldn’t come out for dinner, and would instead get a snack by herself later in the evening. Even in bed together, she would sleep as far away from him as the confines of the mattress would allow.

“Why are you avoiding me, Mayu?” he asked.

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. Why won’t you talk to me?”

“What is there to talk about?”

“I don’t know. I’d be happy with anything, at this point, but I wish you’d just explain what’s wrong with you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me, Hatori,” she said loudly, sitting up with her shoulders squared back defensively.

“I’m not an idiot, Mayu, I can tell when something isn’t right.”

“Why won’t you just leave me alone?” she cried, screaming now. “I told you to get out.”

“Because,” he snarled, “I’m worried about you, and you keep shutting me out.”

“For fuck’s sake, we’ve been over this already. I don’t need you treating me like a child.”

“I’m not treating you like a child,” he said, exasperation lacing his words. “You’re my girlfriend, and you’ve been acting like a completely different person for two weeks now. Obviously I’m going to worry about you.”

“So, what, being in a bad mood sometimes makes me a different person?”

“It’s not sometimes, Mayu, it’s all the time.”

“You think that?” she said. Her eyebrows were arched and her lips held in a stiff line, daring him to challenge her. 

“Yes, I do. Do you even know how long it’s been since we’ve had a normal conversation?”

“It’s not like you’ve made it easy for us to talk. You've been nothing but an overbearing asshole."

“I’m not making it easy? Me? You’re the one acting like a bitch all the time,” he yelled before immediately clapping a hand over his mouth, regret washing over him. 

Her eyes widened. “Screw you, Hatori,” she spat. “Just… get out. I don’t want you here right now.”

“Mayu, I didn’t mean what I said. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to hear it. Get out.”

“Mayu…”

“Leave.”

They stared at each other, gazes cold and unwavering, before Hatori stepped toward the dresser to grab clothing that he would unceremoniously stuff in the small black duffle bag he used when he needed to travel. Mayu watched him, silently, eyes red and swollen from her tears. He wanted to reach out to her, to hold her and make her feel better, but he knew she wouldn’t let him. He would go away for the night, as she asked, and return tomorrow - if she would have him, he thought bitterly. Finally, once his bag was packed and his cell phone was securely in his pocket, he picked up his car keys and walked out the front door. Before shutting it behind him, he called out a short goodbye to Mayu, who didn’t respond. Resignedly, he closed the door and walked out into the cool darkness of winter.

\-----

Being kicked out of his house was humiliating for a variety of reasons, but he quickly found that the worst part was being at the mercy of whoever he begged for shelter. To his dismay, that person ended up being Shigure, who was having far too much fun with his unexpected request for a place to stay. 

“Haa-san,” Shigure lilted from the other end of their call, “this is such a pleasant surprise. When was the last time we had a sleepover? It’s been, I don’t even know how long. Forget surprising - this is shocking.”

“Great,” Hatori grumbled. “So I can come?”

“Hmm… I suppose so. Akito won’t mind giving you the spare bedroom. I always tell her that she owes you for all the years you spent as her personal doctor.”

Hatori hung up the phone and let out a long breath. He needed more friends that could help him with his problems. He supposed Ayame could have been an option, if he wasn’t out of town with Mine for what seemed like the tenth time this month.

Twenty minutes later, Shigure met Hatori outside of the main house. He eyed the duffle bag with an interested expression, but, much to Hatori’s relief, didn’t comment on it. The two men walked through the halls, engaged in polite small talk, until Shigure unlocked a door near the back of the house that revealed a plain but clean room with an untouched bed. 

“This is yours,” Shigure said, “isn’t it nice?”

“Very. Thank you for letting me stay,” Hatori said, throwing his bag on the bed. 

“Of course. What are friends for, if not helping their friends in times of need?”

“I’m not in need, Shigure.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Quite.”

“Bullshit. You’re having trouble in paradise.”

“You don’t need to be so blunt,” Hatori said, blushing.

“I’m right, though,” Shigure replied, grinning widely. “So, what’s wrong?”

“We had a big argument last night,” he admitted reluctantly, fearing where the conversation would lead.

“About what?”

“I’m not really sure. I asked her why she was acting strange, she started lashing out, and I said something awful to her.”

“That doesn’t sound like you. What did you say?”

“I’d rather not tell you,” he said quietly. “I feel terrible about it.”

“Alright,” Shigure said, concern flashing across his face. “Well, have you two talked about what happened yet?”

“Obviously not. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Besides, she doesn’t want to talk to me. I don’t blame her. We’ve been fighting for a couple of weeks and I think last night was the worst of it.”

“Ah, that is difficult,” Shigure said thoughtfully as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out his pocket. 

Disdainfully, Hatori watched him light one, and his hands began to twitch uncomfortably. “Do you need to do that here? You know I’ve just quit.”

“It’s been almost two years now, Haa-san, you’ll be fine. Besides, it helps me think,” he said, puffing out a thick cloud of smoke.

Hatori stared at him, arms crossed and eyes cold. “What do you need to think about?”

“How to get Mayu to talk to you again,” Shigure answered, taking another long drag. “As much as I like having you here, you’re no fun when you’re sad. So I’m going to solve your problems for you.” After a few more minutes and noxious exhalations of cigarette smoke, he glanced at Hatori and snapped his fingers. “I have an idea. You probably won’t like it though.”

“What is it?”

“You and Mayu should have sex.”

Hatori rolled his eyes.

“Hear me out, Haa-san. Have you two had sex at all since you’ve started fighting?”

“Well, uh, no,” Hatori spluttered. 

“That’s what I thought,” Shigure said, clicking his tongue. “Listen to me - right now, there’s distance between the two of you. If you have sex, it lets her know that you still care and that you want to be close to her. It’ll make her feel better. When Akito and I have fights, that’s how we solve them. It works wonders for us.”

“That…” Hatori said, trailing off. “That’s incredibly stupid. How does that fix anything?”

“We talk about things after,” Shigure said simply. “The sex just gets us to a place where we’re getting along well enough to fix everything, you know?”

“Oh,” Hatori said. “That actually makes sense.”

“I’m much smarter than you give me credit for,” Shigure said smugly. “Ah! Look at the time, I should be getting to sleep. And Akito will be mad if she thinks I’ve left her to spend the whole night with you. So, I’ll see you in the morning, Haa-san - unless you leave before I’m up. Regardless, call me after you and Mayu deal with everything.”

“I’m not going to call you to say that my girlfriend and I had sex, Shigure.”

Shigure’s expression softened as he moved towards the door. “Believe it or not, Haa-san, I don’t want to know about that. I just want to know that your relationship is okay. I like you and Mayu together. I think you make a good couple. And, most importantly, she makes you happy. I’d be very sorry to lose that.”

“Uh,” Hatori uttered, clearing his throat. “Me too. Thank you, Shigure. I appreciate it.”

“One of these days, though,” Shigure continued, slicking his hair away from his forehead, “I’ll finally get you to admit that the two of you roleplay in the bedroom. I mean, you’re a doctor and she’s a teacher. The opportunities are endless, Haa-san!”

Hatori reddened and threw his slipper at Shigure; it struck his ribs and fell to the floor. Shigure yelped as Hatori picked up the other slipper and held it threateningly above his head. Hatori chuckled as Shigure immediately ran out of the room, his own slippers shuffling against the smooth hardwood floors. 

\-----

The drive home was excruciating.

He tried to imagine what would happen. He supposed that everything might go as perfectly as Shigure had said it would. Maybe Mayu did just need some reassurance that he was still there for her. He held onto the wheel tighter and bowed his head. Why was he even thinking about listening to Shigure? Mayu wasn’t anything like Akito. She wouldn’t tell him what was bothering her just because he got her off. They needed to have a simple, straightforward discussion. Talking about their problems was how they handled things, and it seemed that they had forgotten about that.

He certainly hadn’t made it easy for her to talk. He was too anxious, too bothersome. He wouldn’t want to talk to someone who acted the way he had been. Then again, she had also been difficult - and that scared him more. He could control his own actions, but he couldn’t decide what she did. Even if he did everything exactly right today, there was a part of him that was terrified Mayu would keep on shutting him out. 

The other part of him, however, was creating countless scenarios of what he might learn if she did decide to open up to him. He was quite certain that the root of everything was the marriage conversation. After all, everything had gone wrong after that. Perhaps the conversation had made her realize how she really felt about the issue. Perhaps she wasn’t actually happy. Would she tell him she wanted to get married now and was tired of waiting? Or would she tell him that she never wanted to marry him, and their whole relationship had been a mistake? 

But, he thought, that didn’t explain her getting sick. What if she was seriously ill? What if she was dying? He pushed those thoughts away. Mayu promised that was nothing. It was more likely the marriage issue - or something else related to their relationship. His stomach churned. What if she wanted to break up with him? He knew that people sometimes started to push their partners away when they wanted to end things. Then, of course, there was the possibility that she had been cheating on him. He hoped it wasn’t that one; he wasn’t sure how he would handle something like that. 

Shoving down those fears, he focused his attention elsewhere. A few times, he wondered if he should stop somewhere and pick up a present for her. She liked chocolates a lot, and she was fond of lilies. Ultimately, though, he decided against it - Mayu was smart, she would know the gifts were nothing more than a cheap tactic to get her to open up.

Soon after walking through the front door, he found Mayu laying on the couch with a hot-water bottle on her stomach. One of her arms was flung up over her face, shielding her from the rest of the world. He looked at her, frowning concernedly, then walked over to sit on the ottoman beside her. 

“Mayu,” he whispered. “Are you alright? I was wondering if we could talk for a few minutes.”

She groaned, shifting her body away from him. “Hatori, I don’t feel good. Can we do this later?”

He reached out and pulled lightly at her arm. There were dark circles lining her eyelids, and a seed of guilt planted itself in his stomach for interrupting her rest. 

“Can we please talk for just a few minutes?” he begged.

Her face paled, but she rolled over to face him; she kept the hot-water bottle close to her belly, and it sloshed at the disruption. 

“First,” he said, wringing his hands in his lap, “I’m so sorry for last night. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I regret it. I should have never called you that, and I never will again. I just hope you can forgive me.”

“I forgive you,” she whispered. 

“Mayu, I know that all couples go through rough patches, but whatever’s happening between us has gone on for too long. And I’m worried because I don’t know what I should do to fix it. Clearly, what I’m doing now is only making everything worse. So, please, tell me what I need to do to make things better.”

She stared up at him, eyes wide with an emotion he wasn’t sure he’d seen on her before. “I don’t…” she said, the corners of her mouth beginning to tremble. She clutched the hot-water bottle closer. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Oh. That’s okay. You can take your time,” Hatori said, rubbing his palms together.

After some time, she sat up, body slumping forward as though someone had taken all the air out of her. “Hatori,” she said, “you haven’t done anything wrong. I promise.”

“Then will you tell me what’s wrong? I want to help you.”

She bit down on her lip and shook her head. “I’m scared to talk about it.”

“You can talk to me, Mayu,” he said, setting a hand gently on her knee. “Whatever you’re dealing with, I’ll listen and do everything I can to help you.”

Mayu drew in a sharp breath and looked up at the ceiling. “Hatori… I want you to take a few deep breaths for me, okay?”

“Okay?” he said, puzzled, before doing as she asked.

Once he had let out his third exhale, she set her hand on his arm and nodded. “Okay. Hatori, you know how, sometimes, mistakes happen? Even when you usually try really hard to make sure they don’t?”

“Um, yes?”

“And, sometimes, those mistakes are pretty big ones. Big enough that you can’t just pretend like they never happened.”

“Yes?” Hatori said, swallowing - the cheating scenario seemed as though it might be closer to reality than he had anticipated, and his head felt like it was going to burst from anxiety. 

“So, when mistakes like that do happen, it can be a lot to process. Especially when that mistake involves another person, and you don’t know how that person is going to react. So, basically, I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks processing, because I’ve been trying to figure out how I should tell you… how I should tell you that I’m pregnant,” she said, the last few words rushing out of her mouth at an almost incomprehensible pace.

Hatori froze, mouth gaping open. The thoughts and fears that had been spinning around in his mind came to a screeching halt. He had prepared himself for a hundred different conversations, but this wasn’t one of them. This one hadn’t even crossed his mind. He scratched at his head, trying to comprehend what she had just said to him. “What?”

Mayu stared at him, fists clenched and knuckles white in her lap. “I’m pregnant,” she said, slower this time.

“You’re… you’re sure?”

“Yeah,” she said, staring down at her feet. “I’m sure. My period hasn’t started, I took a test that came back positive, and I went to the doctor to double check.”

“But… we’re careful,” he eventually stuttered, “you’re on the pill. And we always use condoms.”

Mayu made a face, and Hatori felt his stomach drop. “I know, and I was confused too, at first. But, uh, do you remember after Ayame’s wedding? I think… I think we forgot to use a condom - and it’s neither of our faults, so please don’t get mad at yourself. We were really drunk.”

Hatori took a deep breath, trying to ease the trembling that was beginning to set in. 

“Hey,” Mayu said. “It’s okay. Don’t go having a panic attack on me.”

“I won’t.”

“Listen,” she continued, “even if it wasn’t then - although I think it was - accidents do happen.”

“No, I know they do,” Hatori said, furrowing his brows, “I’m trying to wrap my head around this.”

“I know, just… Hatori, will you come sit next to me?” she asked, reaching her hand out to him. 

Hesitantly, he took it and picked himself up to sit down beside her. She relaxed into him, resting her head heavily on his shoulder; a fleeting warmth and calmness flooded him, and he let himself lean into her as well. “What are we going to do?” he asked, squeezing her fingers in his own. 

“There isn’t really an easy answer, is there?”

Hatori considered for a moment. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. Have the baby, I mean. It’s your decision.”

She fell silent, then nodded. “I think I want to. But, I’m afraid.”

“Mayu,” he said, “it will be okay.”

“No, it won’t.”

“Why?” he asked. 

“My mom will have a conniption,” she huffed, her fingernails beginning to dig uncomfortably into his palm.

“No,” he said, smiling, “your mother is always saying how she can’t wait to have grandchildren.”

“Hatori,” she said, voice straining and tears beginning to flow, “my mom will have a conniption because we aren’t married. She’s not the only one that will, either. My grandparents will probably stop talking to me. And can you even imagine what will happen at school? The students, and the other teachers… I’ll completely lose their respect. Parents might even get upset about it. And… I don’t want our baby to be treated like there’s something wrong with them.”

“Oh.”

They sat together in silence for some time, the gravity of her words weighing down on them. As much as he hated it, she was right. There would be repercussions, far more for her than for him. It made him feel sick, that he had put her in this position and made her feel so helpless. As the guilt continued to settle in and his mind scrambled for answers, he realized there was only one thing he could do right now to make everything better. 

“Mayu,” he said, hoping his voice remained steady, “let’s get married.”

A broken laugh erupted from her, and he jumped back. “No,” she choked, “we can’t. You’re not ready, and I’m not going to force you to get married before you’re ready.”

Hatori blinked. “Why do you think that?”

“Why do I think you’re not ready?” she repeated. “Are you serious? You’ve been freaked out about marriage ever since we got that damn invitation in the mail. The last thing I’m going to do is force you into marrying me when you obviously can’t handle it.”

He paused, perplexed. “I thought that… wait, is that why you were acting weird? Because you thought, if I found out, I wouldn’t be able to handle us needing to get married?”

“I mean, yeah. I was afraid it would be too much for you, and you’d end up leaving.”

“Oh,” he whispered. “Mayu, I would never do that. I’ll marry you today, if that’s what would make you happy.”

“Fuck off,” she stammered, “you’re just being nice because you knocked me up.”

“No,” he said, cringing slightly at her choice of words, “that’s not true. I’m sorry you thought that I didn’t want to marry you. That’s not what was bothering me. I don’t really know what was bothering me, if I’m being completely honest. I guess I felt overwhelmed. Ayame has always been like my younger brother, even though we’re the same age. Seeing him get married made me feel like I was falling behind. And when I found out Honda-san and Kyo were engaged, I started to feel like our relationship might not be enough for you, even though you said you were fine. So, what I mean to say is that I’m not afraid of marrying you. I just… I got lost and confused. It was stupid. I’m sorry.”

“Really?”

“Really. I want to marry you, Mayu. Even if it’s sudden, and even if our reason for getting married isn’t what we thought it would be. I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m overwhelmed. I wasn’t expecting us to start a family for at least a few more years. But I won’t run away, because I love you. I promise. You don’t need to be afraid.”

She looked at him, stunned. “I love you, too,” she said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “I love you so much.”

“In that case,” he said, “will you marry me?”

In lieu of words, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, nodding heavily into him. Through his shirt, he could feel her tears soaking his skin. That was as good as a yes, he decided. Delicately, he laid his hand on her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. 

They would be okay, he realized, relief taking over him. Soon, probably within the next couple of weeks, they would be married. Perhaps their wedding wouldn’t be the way he imagined it, and it certainly wouldn’t be as exciting as Ayame’s wedding, but it would be something special for the two of them. Or, he thought, embarrassed by his own sappiness, the three of them. The thought brought a smile to his face. How strange it was now, to think that just a few years ago he hadn’t believed any of this would be possible for him. But soon he would be Mayu’s husband, and he would be this child’s father. It was scary and strange, but beautiful in a way that he couldn’t quite begin to comprehend. With his eyes threatening tears of his own, he put his arms around Mayu and held her as closely as he could. 

They would be more than okay.

**Author's Note:**

> \- hi!! i hope you guys enjoyed this :))  
\- title from "beautiful boy (darling boy)" by john lennon  
\- come hang out on tumblr @machi-kuragi


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